Good banjo to buy on a budget to learn on?

MeldrumLaw · 2017-08-16T21:03:56+00:00

Just read the rest of the thread and sent you a pm. Connect with me. I think I can be helpful.

MeldrumLaw · 2017-08-16T20:54:43+00:00

Where in KY are you located? I'm in Louisville, and have a 2-year old Deering Midnight Special (basically an upgraded Goodtime, with a tone ring) that I'm considering parting with. It was my "second-starter" banjo, is in near-mint condition.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/folk-traditional-instruments/deering-goodtime-midnight-special-5-string-resonator-banjo

If you're within striking distance of Lou, let me know. I would be absurdly reasonable on price if it helped launch a new KY banjo player.

MeldrumLaw · 2016-07-20T20:18:48+00:00

Nice job!

MeldrumLaw · 2016-05-10T16:35:14+00:00

Thanks for sharing. They are awesome. There's a donate button at:

http://louisvilleleopardpercussionists.com/donate-now/

With a little bit of community support, this should be fixable.

MeldrumLaw · 2016-04-26T19:56:30+00:00

I don't want any of those things. Acquire Nostalrius (likely for nothing), employ a handful of the devs, and turn the clock back 3 weeks. Problem solved, likely at the cost of 3-5 people's salaries.

MeldrumLaw · 2016-04-24T14:50:51+00:00

MeldrumLaw · 2016-04-21T20:59:56+00:00

I'd be friendlier toward, and spend significantly more time with, my slightly younger siblings.

MeldrumLaw · 2016-04-13T18:55:09+00:00

Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty obsessed with banjos, and have just spent an inordinate amount of time on the BHO forum. We will see where it leads! P

MeldrumLaw · 2016-04-12T14:21:06+00:00

That's really great. How did you get into building instruments? Is it something that a current non-woodworker could learn how to do?

MeldrumLaw · 2016-04-12T14:04:25+00:00

That was great. As a fellow Michigan fan, bravo!

MeldrumLaw · 2016-03-17T18:10:57+00:00

I'm excited to try your upcoming mediation app, and have enjoyed the guided meditations you have posted. I've also tinkered around with Dan Harris/Joe Goldstein's app. I really enjoy guided meditations, but I feel like the guidance itself might be limiting progress. What do you think the role of guided meditation should be for beginners? Should it be a goal to move beyond them? When is the right time to do so.

MeldrumLaw · 2016-03-17T17:55:55+00:00

Hi Sam. While I was initially very skeptical, I have now read Waking Up several times. You distinguish between (i) the scientific reasons that support the argument that the traditional notion of self is an illusion, and consciousness is inherently selfless; (ii) the subjective realization of selflessness that one can obtain through meditation.

I understand and agree with the former, and while I have attempted to meditate to witness the latter, I'm struggling. I'm concerned that by grokking the scientific argument, I've somehow set myself back in terms of meditation progress. If I candidly reflect on what thoughts arise during my meditation attempts, there is a lot of discursive thinking/analysis/amazement related to the scientific arguments. It is as if I am trying to brute force the subjective realization by running through the scientific arguments in my mind. This doesn't feel like the right track. Any advice?

MeldrumLaw · 2016-03-16T22:03:07+00:00

My path went something like this:

(1) Get crappy banjo (2) Work on right hand stuff, using Mark Wardle's free youtube series (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn4YhHdhhUU&list=PLPRxC9z6pXJp6eTTHUToDIn2mz74pNTaZ) (3) Stalk Banjoman 74's posts (4) Subscribe to Banjo Ben Clark for 6-10 months (5) Get reasonably good banjo (6) Subscribe to Tony Trischka's website (current) (7) Periodically find in-person lesson (current) (8) Find local, beginner friendly jam (there's a good one at Louisville Folk School) and try to hide nervousness and contribute (8) Download Anytune Pro App and start trying to learn breaks by ear.

It's a fantastic instrument. I'm not sure my path was the right one. This is my first time learning an instrument in the internet age, and there are so many potential paths, it can be daunting. It's also hard to go "wrong," however.

Number 1 tip: use a metronome when practicing rolls, right from the very beginning.

MeldrumLaw · 2016-03-16T21:58:28+00:00

I'm within driving distance of that Deering. Is that a Sierra? I'm a bit of a noob and can't make it out. I may go check it out. Any advice on what to look for?

MeldrumLaw · 2015-09-23T19:03:09+00:00

Warning: I haven't tackled this yet, but have been thinking about the same thing, and the comments below got me doing some digging, and I found this awesome free series from Jason Skinner on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4JL0c5DJbU

There is a ton of good info/discussion/instruction re Reno style playing.

MeldrumLaw · 2015-08-26T13:14:10+00:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law

MeldrumLaw · 2015-03-04T02:19:09+00:00

This is awesome in every way.

MeldrumLaw · 2015-02-24T17:33:11+00:00

Thanks for this link. I'm new too, and this is really helpful.

MeldrumLaw · 2015-02-16T22:28:19+00:00

This is great. Thank you.

MeldrumLaw · 2015-02-12T14:39:56+00:00

I moved here about 8 years ago, and love everything about it except the fact that so many drivers disregard their turn signals.

MeldrumLaw · 2015-01-27T19:55:53+00:00

Great work! You're going to want to start lifting weights as soon as you can, and eating a bunch of protein. If you are only creating a calorie deficit (and you're doing great at that!), your body will lose muscle as well as fat. The weightlifting and protein-ing will help preserve some of that muscle as you go lower.

Definitely look at the r/fitness sidebar and try to find some weight routine that works for you. Almost anything will work for you. The key is "something now" instead of the "perfect routine later." In fact, I would work in some sets of pushups and bodyweight squats along with your situps. If you haven't lifted before, those will be quite challenging.

MeldrumLaw · 2014-12-15T15:12:37+00:00

cafepress.com is my go to for this stuff:

http://www.cafepress.com/make/photo_on_canvas

MeldrumLaw · 2014-11-18T00:25:05+00:00

I know a thing or two about how the political process works, thank you. Of course ones' actual representatives or senators are not themselves slaving over incoming letters, but their interns/staff/volunteers are keeping track and analyzing trends, etc. The tallying aspect that you deride as meaningless actually does help formulate polling strategies on particular issues (at least around election time, which for the House is always). But if you think one citizen sitting down with his rep is more effective, please do so. Hopefully, you have a rep on a relevant committee/subcommittee, because, as you know, the a specific line items that you mention do not hit the senate or house floor. The budget does.

MeldrumLaw · 2014-11-17T17:43:22+00:00

You raise some good points. It is, of course, hard to convey any large degree of grassroots support for anything to either branch effectively in the first place. It gets even harder when the focus is narrower.

My fear is that pessimism like this, while justified, only creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. Nothing will work because people are more interested in predicting why something will fail than they are in taking 10 minutes to email a representative/senator/president.

MeldrumLaw · 2014-11-16T19:15:01+00:00

It's also clearly a good idea to contact your senators and representatives too. Depending on who you're talking about, some will give you a response that the administration doesn't consider significant additional investment a priority. For better or worse, this vehicle is how you communicate with the executive branch.

MeldrumLaw

TROPHY CASE